Sharpshooting Cerroni Leads St. Norbert Past Cornell

MOUNT VERNON, Iowa - St. Norbert College senior guard Kam Cerroni canned seven 3-pointers to help the Green Knights to a hard-fought 81-70 win over Cornell College at the Multi-Sport Center.

The Green Knights (5-1, 3-0 MWC), ranked No. 16 in the D3hoops.com Top 25, held a tenuous 57-54 lead with 9:09 remaining after a 9-0 Cornell run. Cerroni then canned 3-pointers on St. Norbert's next two possessions to start a decisive 10-2 run that pushed the Green Knights ahead 67-56 with 5:36 to go.

Cornell (4-3, 2-2 MWC) got back to within six at 67-61 with 4:37 left, but the Rams scored just two field goals the rest of the game as St. Norbert pulled away. The Green Knights made 10 of their last 12 free-throw attempts down the stretch to seal the win.

The Rams led early at 13-8, but St. Norbert went on a 12-2 run - finished by a Cerroni 3-pointer - to take a 20-15 lead with 9:08 left before halftime. St. Norbert eventually built its halftime lead to 10 at 39-29.

In the second half, another Cerroni triple gave the Green Knights their biggest lead at 15 points at 52-37 with 15:37 left. Austin Elliott's jumper with 14:22 to go gave St. Norbert another 15-point lead before Cornell mounted its last-ditch rally.

Cerroni finished with 28 points, which included going 7-for-11 from beyond the three-point arc. Cerroni finished 9-for-14 overall from the floor, and did not commit a turnover in 37 minutes of action. Brandon Gries was the only other St. Norbert player to register double figures in scoring with 18 points, 16 of which came in the first half.

St. Norbert shot 47.1 percent from the field, making 24 of 51 shots. The Green Knights were 8-for-17 (47.1 percent) from beyond the three-point arc and connected on 25 of 29 free throws (86.2 percent).

Reggie Greenwood led Cornell with 25 points, with 16 coming in the second half. Nick Bobb added 18 points for the Rams, who held a 27-25 rebounding edge. Cornell shot 52.9 percent from the field, making 27 of 51 field-goal attempts.